Goods trade deficit narrows to 42-month low of $14 bn in Feb

A 61% drop in gold and 30% drop in petroleum imports led to an overall 16.34% fall in goods imports in February, which resulted in India's merchandise trade deficit shrinking to $14 billion, the lowest in 42 months.

- DIPAK MONDAL @ New Delhi

In comparison, exports also fell by only 6.5% during the month. The merchandise trade deficit in January was $19.5 billion. Gold imports fell from $6.15 billion in February 2024 to $2.34 billion in February 2025. Petroleum import bill shrank 29.5% to $11.9 billion in February, down from 16.9 billion in the same month last year. Silver imports also witnessed a sharp decline to $430 million from $1.7 billion a year ago.